Jameson’s Penalty Kick Goal Propel Statesmen to Final Site

Oskaloosa--Leighton Jameson (Jr., Lisburn, North Ireland, Psychology) scored the match's lone goal as the William Penn men's soccer team advanced to the Final Site with a 1-0 victory over Governors State (Ill.) in the NAIA National Championship Second Round Saturday.

In its sixth trip to nationals, #3 seed WPU (17-2-3) advances to the final site for the second time in program history. The navy and gold will next face #14 seed Bethel (Ind.) in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, December 3 at 4 p.m. at Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan.

The only other time the programs have met came in 2022 with BU defeating WPU 3-1 in the Opening Round.

William Penn outshot the Jaguars (16-3-4) 6-3 in a scoreless first half.

After a foul in the box by Governors State, the home team capitalized early in the second half as Jameson converted a penalty kick, sending the ball past the goalkeeper and putting the hosts on the board.

Despite GSU attempting eight shots (four for WPU) in the second half, the visitors were unable to find an equalizer.

Sean Bohan (Sr., Dublin, Ireland, Business Management) stayed busy all game, posting four saves to keep a clean sheet, his seventh of the fall.

Offensively, William Penn managed 11 shots, five of which were on goal. Albert Feixas (Fr., Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, Exercise Science) led the way with four shots, while Connor O'Reilly (Sr., Letterkenny, Ireland, General Accounting) added two attempts. Timothy King (Jr., London, England, Biology), John-Joe Mullane (Jr., Kent, England, Sports Management), Sven Henneberg (Fr., Detmold, Germany, Sports Management), and Jameson all contributed with one strike.

"I couldn't do it without the lads," said Bohan. "It gives us a platform to build off, and look, we went out and did it."

"It was great scoring the goal," added Jameson. "But, the main thing was we won, and that's all we can ask for."

"It wasn't the best performance of the season so far. It was ugly. Props to Leighton for stepping up and converting the penalty and Sean for the saves," said Head Coach Simon Brown. "Anytime you're going playing in December, you're one of the best teams in the country. We are, and we have been that the whole season.  Now, we want to win the national championship."